Weatherization projects increase, inspections lag

State inspectors routinely find mistakes -- from leaky ducts to lead dust -- as crews work to make the homes of low-income Ohioans more energy efficient.

State inspectors routinely find mistakes -- from leaky ducts to lead dust -- as crews work to make the homes of low-income Ohioans more energy efficient.

But the inspectors look at just a fraction of the projects in the state's Home Weatherization Assistance Program, leading critics to wonder whether thousands of other problems will go undetected as the program some call "cash for caulkers" expands with federal stimulus money.

Federal auditors warned in December that Ohio's fast-growing program is at risk for "waste, fraud and abuse." But state officials and those running the local weatherization agencies say they're taking steps to head off trouble.

In the past three years, state inspectors have examined the work in 802 Ohio houses that qualified for help with insulation, efficient furnaces and other energy-saving improvements. State records show the inspectors cited the agencies doing the work a total of 1,616 times -- an average of two citations per project.

Problems included improper ventilation and a "vent too close to combustibles," according to inspectors' notes for a Dayton-area agency that racked up more than 200 citations on 31 homes in 2008.

Nonprofit weatherization agencies act quickly to fix the problems state inspectors find, said Nick Milano, who manages the program for the Ohio Department of Development.

He said he trusts the agencies to do the work correctly -- especially when it comes to safety issues -- because the state's training for weatherization workers is among the best in the nation.

"The training has gotten better, and we've eliminated many of those health and safety issues we used to see," Milano said.

But as the program grows, thousands of homes will get insulation and other services but won't get a state inspection. The state is required to inspect one in 20 jobs.

Funding more than quadrupled for weatherization programs in Ohio last year, rising from $30 million in 2008 to $267 million for 2009 and 2010. Since then, 58 agencies across the state have completed projects in more than 6,700 homes. They expect to complete an additional 25,300 projects through spring of 2011.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office warned in a report to Congress in December that rapid growth in Ohio's program places it "at heightened risk" for problems.

The federal auditors found that the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission, which receives money to provide weatherization services in central Ohio, did $2,300 worth of work for a homeowner who exceeded the income cutoff for the program.

MORPC returned the money to the state, and officials there said they've taken steps to ensure that their calculations are better in the future.

The GAO recommended that Ohio step up inspections to head off further problems.

The program has added one inspector since the stimulus work began in July, said Bill Graves, community development director for the state Development Department. Another inspector is to start on Feb. 15, and the state is seeking a third.

That will bring the number of inspectors to nine: 50 percent more inspectors for a program that is growing fourfold.

The department also plans to add two auditors to check the books of the weatherization agencies, he said, and will upgrade the computer system it uses to better track projects.

In Wisconsin, where inspectors found one in eight projects didn't meet standards, the state has committed to inspecting 10 percent of the projects, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Illinois, on the other hand, was warned by the U.S. Department of Energy's Inspector General in December that it had not conducted enough inspections.

Ohio officials say they have no plans to check work beyond the required 5 percent of jobs.

Nobody outside of the program can check on the work. Ohio won't release the addresses of homes where the work is done, citing federal privacy laws.

That could mean thousands of botched jobs will never be caught, said Leslie Paige, spokeswoman for Citizens Against Government Waste, a nonprofit group that began raising questions after the weatherization program received $5 billion in stimulus funding for projects nationwide.

Like the GAO, Paige fears waste and fraud will occur as the weatherization agencies rapidly add contractors and employees to do all the new work.

"These houses have a lot of problems to begin with, and you're putting inexperienced people on the job and nobody is checking their work in any systematic way," she said. "There's a miniscule amount of inspections."

Those few inspections help teach the weatherization workers the best way to handle other jobs, said Dave Rinebolt, the executive director of Ohio Partners for Affordable Energy.

His group acts as a trade organization for the community-action agencies and other nonprofits that handle weatherization work in the state.

"If the (inspectors) see a persistent pattern, they can do training on a regional basis," he said.

For example, he said, every weatherization worker in the state will receive lead-paint training by April 21. State inspectors often noted that crews were "not working lead safe" in drafty homes built before 1978, when lead paint was widely used.

In September, state records show, inspectors examined seven homes weatherized by the IMPACT Community Action Agency in Columbus. They issued a total of 17 citations against the agency's work on the homes. According to the comments in the records, problems included leaks in ducts and incomplete tests.

Pat Williams, who oversees the program for IMPACT, did not respond to requests seeking comment.

State inspectors had not yet checked MORPC's work performed with stimulus funds, records show. But in 2007 and 2008, inspectors checked 13 of the homes the agency weatherized in central Ohio and issued 23 citations.

The agency failed to block drafts around a chimney, according to a 2007 note. In 2008, inspectors commented that the agency's work had improved.

In April, MORPC hired a full-time administrator to oversee the program, said Jerry Tinianow, who directs conservation programs for the commission.

The manager, Tom Andrews, has tightened procedures, Tinianow said.

"There's always room for improvement, and bringing him on full time was one way we were working to improve," he said.